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Daytona Beach, FL – The defending champion of the Daytona 200 is in custody for allegedly attacking a police officer on Main Street.

29-year-old Daniel “Danny” C. Eslick was arrested by the Daytona Beach Police Department around 11:45 PM Monday following an incident on the corner of Main and South Atlantic Avenue.

According to Eslick’s arrest report, an officer working a detail in the heart of Bike Week festivities spotted Eslick running northbound on Ocean Avenue and took him into custody after another officer saw Eslick shove a 51-year-old Illinois woman to the ground.

Eslick – a resident of Broken Arrow, OK – put his hands up in the air and told the officer “I’m just goofing off with my friends” before ignoring the officer’s commands to stop by walking away, per the report.

DBPD says the officer grabbed Eslick’s right arm to prevent him from walking away and that’s when Eslick shoved the officer’s shoulder – causing his portable radio microphone to fall from his uniform – and took off running westbound through a nearby alley towards Atlantic.

The officer managed to chase Eslick down on foot and grab him by his clothing, but that’s when Eslick broke free, punched the officer in the chest with his fist and assumed a “fighting stance”, per the report.

Both men got into a scuffle, with the officer punching Eslick in the chest 3 times before Eslick broke free again. He tripped and fell on the ground as the officer unsuccessfully tried to use his pepper spray to subdue Eslick, according to the report.

Eslick was finally taken into custody after climbing over a nearby parking lot fence into the waiting arms of the officer who initially spotted Eslick shoving the woman, per DBPD.

The woman had no visible injuries and refused to get treatment or press charges against Eslick, according to the report. No other injuries were reported.

Eslick – who is out on $1,500 bond from Volusia County Jail after he was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer – was scheduled to defend his title during Saturday afternoon’s running of the Daytona 200, the marquee motorcycle race of Bike Week at Daytona International Speedway. It’s unclear if he will still be in the race.